Tari Eason scores 20 as Rockets roll past Mavericks 135-117

Rockets take the result

Tari Eason scored 20 points, and the Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 135-117 on Friday at Venetian Arena. Houston led 27-19 after the first quarter and extended the margin to 65-45 by halftime. Alperen Sengun added 10 assists and 10 rebounds for the Rockets.

Houston builds an early lead

The Rockets opened the game with three consecutive 3-pointers by Fred VanVleet, moving ahead 9-0. Dallas answered with a 3-pointer from Max Christie and baskets from Cooper Flagg and Daniel Gafford, but Houston finished the opening period with an eight-point advantage.

Houston then outscored Dallas 38-26 in the second quarter. The Rockets pushed their lead to 58-33 during the period before the Mavericks closed the half with points from Zaccharie Risacher and other Dallas scorers. Jabari Smith Jr. scored on multiple baskets during Houston’s second-quarter run, while Sengun also contributed points and assists.

Mavericks trim the gap slightly

Dallas scored the first basket of the third quarter, but Houston maintained its advantage. The Rockets outscored the Mavericks 34-35? No—the quarter score was Houston 34, Dallas 35, leaving Houston ahead 99-80 after three quarters. Kevin Durant and VanVleet made multiple Houston baskets in the period, while Max Christie, Naji Marshall, Tarik Biberovic and Zaccharie Risacher scored for Dallas.

Dallas also outscored Houston 37-36 in the fourth quarter, but the deficit remained too large to overcome. Flagg finished with 19 points for the Mavericks, while Dwight Powell had eight assists and Risacher recorded eight rebounds.

Records

The game was played at Venetian Arena, where attendance was 11,564. Houston moved to 1-0, and Dallas fell to 0-1 after the result.

Sources

ESPN